Equine Chiropractor

 Wednesday, the equine chiropractor came to work on Laura's equine, so I got to watch what a chiropractor does. Basically, a chiropractor fixes the blocked neuro-impulses in the spine and muscles and bringing them back into alignment if needed. This helps with stiffness and joint and back pain, making the equine more comfortable using their back in dressage work. Often scar tissue can build up under the skin, becoming stuck to the spine and making it uncomfortable for the horse because the tissue is restricting the movement. The chiropractor had a special, flat metal tool that she rubbed on the equine's back to detect this tissue. Equine chiropractors have to study at a human chiropractor school or veterinary school after their undergrad, and then take a course specializing in an chiropractic work for animals to get their animal chiropractic license, so becoming one takes quite a bit of schooling.

 It was fascinating to watch the chiropractor work and ask her questions about what she was doing. It was neat to see the tension in the spine relax as she pushed and squeezed the spine, and i could even hear the back pop a few times. After working on the back and hips, the chiropractor would lift the legs, one at a time, and bend it back at the knee(or hock), rotating in and then out. She did this on all four legs. She also worked on the neck, and on one mule she worked on the temporomandibular joint(TMJ), the joint that controls chewing.

This is Lucky. She's putting her ears back a it because she is getting adjusted, but has a very cute face.

 I helped with brining the equines to the chiropractor when she was ready, holding them for the leg and neck work, and putting them away when she was done. When she began working on the last mule, I went to the pasture to grab Lucky and began brushing her out. When Lucky was all brushed out, I worked with turning her on her forehand as I had with Dyna, then brought her to the chiropractor. Great news–the chiropractor gave the clear to start working her, so Lucky will have a week off to recover from the chiropractor and then I'll be able to state riding her!

 After the chiropractor was done, we picked up some wormers and new clippers, so I'll soon be able to learn how to worm and them clip all the equines so they look neat and show ready(there isn't a show soon but Laura wants her equines looking nice).

 I also learned what hay and supplements the equines get, so I an start feeding them too. Also I learned an interesting fact about mules: they have an affinity for mares, more so than most geldings.